Father’s day is soon upon us and with this will come the last-minute induced panic from those who have forgotten to pick up a card or present to mark this occasion. But where did the annual tradition of father’s day come from and why do we celebrate it?

Here’s everything you need to know about the origins of father’s day and the date it lands on this year.

Where did the annual tradition of fathers day come from and why do we celebrate it?

When is father’s day 2018?

Father’s Day in the UK is held every year on the third Sunday of June, meaning this year Father’s Day falls on Sunday, June 17.

This day now typically sees dads, step-dads and grandads all being showered with gifts and cards, with many families opting to celebrate this day by enjoying a day out together.

Younger children tend to make handmade gifts for loved ones at school and extracurricular clubs, including drawings, paintings or cards.

Younger children tend to make handmade gifts for their fathers at school and extracurricular clubs, including drawings, paintings or cards

Where did father’s day derive from?

In different parts of the world father’s day dates back to different periods of time, with some countries in Europe celebrating it as far back as the Middle Ages, usually on March 19.

However, many countries in Europe and throughout other parts of the globe have adopted the U.S. date, which is the third Sunday of June.

There are two well-known and popular stories which circulate about the derivation of father’s day in the US.

The first is that Grace Golden Clayton, from Fairmont, West Virginia, suggested to her pastor that fathers should be honoured. This was partly inspired by Anna Jarvis, also from West Virginia, who lobbied the government for a day which honoured mothers, Mother’s Day then being first celebrated in 1908.

Clayton also campaigned for father’s day after the Monongah Mining Disaster in December 1907, which left 360 men dead, including 210 fathers.

She argued that children in the town needed a time to remember their fathers and her own father, Methodist minister Rev. Fletcher Golden, had also died in 1896.

The next year, after hearing a sermon about Jarvis’ Mother’s Day, Sonora Smart Dodd from Washington, also told her pastor in 1909 that fathers should be honoured in the same way as mothers.

Dodd was one of six children and was raised by civil war veteran and single parent William Jackson Smart after her mother died during childbirth.

Alongside the local YMCA and the Ministerial Association of Spokane, a city near where she was born, Dodd began a campaign to have a day dedicated to fathers officially recognised.

The first 'Father’s Day' was then held at the YMCA in Spokane in 1910, with various other towns and cities across America later following suit.

Where else is it celebrated and when?

Many countries celebrate this day on March 19, which is also St.Joseph’s day. These countries include: Italy, where it is named the Festa del Papà, Spain, where it is known as Día del Padre, and Belgium, Croatia, Portugal and Switzerland.

In the Ukraine, it's celebrated on the third Sunday of September, whilst in Indonesia it is celebrated on the twelfth of every November.

Father's Day in Argentina is celebrated on the third Sunday of June, but it is believed that there have been attempts to change the date to August 24, in order to commemorate the day on which the Father of the Nation, José de San Martín became a father.

In Australia, Father's Day is celebrated on the first Sunday of September, which is the first Sunday of Spring in Australia.

In Germany, Father's Day (Vatertag) is celebrated differently from other parts of the world. It is always celebrated on Ascension Day, this being the Thursday which is forty days after Easter and is a federal holiday.

Regionally, it is also called men's day, known as Männertag or Herrentag, and it is traditional on this day for groups of men to do a hiking tour where they spend the day pulling wagons filled with an array of beverages together.